Newcastle United may have to enter the January transfer window to deal with injury issues, Eddie Howe admits the club will be ‘opportunistic’ if the right opportunity presents itself
Eddie Howe has admitted that Newcastle could be forced to dig in the January transfer window to deal with their serious injury crisis.
The Magpies face Chelsea this weekend with Lewis Miley likely to play at right-back and potential reserve team star Alex Murphy at left-back. Defenders Dan Byrne, Kieran Trippier, Emil Craft, Jameel Lascelles and Tino Livramento are all out until early 2026, while Lewis Hall is doubtful to start.
Howe is considering bringing Matt Targett back from his loan spell at Middlesbrough, but that does not appear to be a viable option after the player bid farewell to his team-mate in the summer, when his contract with Newcastle expires at the end of the season.
However, there is optimism that new signings could start Newcastle’s season, with club backers PIF injecting £45m ahead of the January deadline. However, they started the festive period languishing in 12th place and Howe told the team they needed to improve.
When asked about the move, Howe told Chronicle Live: “We always try to be opportunistic. If there is something that everyone feels will benefit the club in the short or long term, we will consider it.”
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“It depends on what happens in the coming days and weeks. Obviously the situation may change and there may be a need or necessity to act aggressively. I think we will have to make that decision when the time comes. I don’t think we can make that decision now.”
“We’re not going to hire someone to solve a short-term need to create a long-term problem. I think we’ll make a decision in the first week of January as to what the injury situation will be.”
Newcastle reached the Carabao Cup semi-finals this week with a 2-1 win over Fulham at St James’ Park. They are well placed for the Champions League play-offs, but while they aim to qualify for Europe in the Premier League, questions have been raised whether their success in the cup is masking underlying problems.
Howe said: “We want to do well in every competition. I don’t think we’ll be criticized for doing well in the cup competitions. We’re not going to hide our rifts. We know the Premier League is where we’ll be judged the most. Our Premier League form has to improve.”
With a rash of injuries and a harsh winter looming on Tyneside, Howe may even need to consider deploying Joelinton as an emergency centre-back if the injury crisis worsens.
Speaking about the challenge of adapting players to unfamiliar roles, Howe explained: “I’ve been through a lot of difficult times in different ways, and I don’t think you can compare one to the other. As long as I can get my team on the field and we’re competitive, I think I’m fine with it.”
“Sometimes you use players out of position. You see a lot of teams around the country doing that. As long as we have good players on the field, that’s important and I support their performance.”
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